Review: Man Made Boy by Jon Skovron

October 16, 2013 5 stars, Book Review 17 ★★★★★

Man Made Boy by Jon Skovron

Love can be a real monster.

Seventeen-year-old Boy’s never left home. When you’re the son of Frankenstein’s monster and the Bride, it’s tough to go out in public, unless you want to draw the attention of a torch-wielding mob. And since Boy and his family live in a secret enclave of monsters hidden under Times Square, it’s important they maintain a low profile.

Boy’s only interactions with the world are through the Internet, where he’s a hacker extraordinaire who can hide his hulking body and stitched-together face behind a layer of code. When conflict erupts at home, Boy runs away and embarks on a cross-country road trip with the granddaughters of Jekyll and Hyde, who introduce him to malls and diners, love and heartbreak. But no matter how far Boy runs, he can’t escape his demons—both literal and figurative—until he faces his family once more.

This hilarious, romantic, and wildly imaginative tale redefines what it means to be a monster—and a man.

​​

​​​​​Man Made Boy was like reading the best B-Movie ever! I don’t know about everyone else but I’ve always been a big fan of B-Horror Movies because they were fun and always gave you the monsters in the classic way. That is exactly the way you’ll see them in this book, except you’ll see just how well those old monsters do or don’t adapt to the modern world.

I immediately fell in love with the character Boy and his quiet personality. Though I seriously wish his name would have been something other than “Boy.” He is the son of Frankenstein’s Monster and of course he wasn’t born in the same way other creatures would be – no he was created. Patched together with the parts from dead humans. But whereas his parents were science experiments, Boy was a labor of love. Not only is he a wonderful character, he is also a tech genius! A computer hacker extraordinaire if you will. He’s been locked up his whole life inside the Broadway show house where his family and a myriad troupe of other creatures live, hiding from humanity right under it’s nose. Entertaining humans with a magical Broadway show each night.

This is box title
“Humans are pretty complicated,” I said.

“No, Boy. Rain-forest ecosystems are complicated. Humans are just a mess.” – pg 24

But Boy is restless and wants to get out into the human world.  And that is where all the trouble and this adventure starts. He is a bit naive but also strong. After all, it would take a brave person to strike out on their own the way he did. I really adored  this guy and my heart was constantly going out to him.  There were moments when I was so achingly sad for him because of his self loathing that I could see many teens relating to him.
This is box title
“Haven’t you ever been in bed with a girl before?”

“One.”

“That’s it? Geez, are you ridiculously shy or something?”

“No, I’m just fucking ugly, okay?” – pg 208

We get to see Boy’s life in the theater, outside of the theater, on the run from his mistakes, as well as him finally finding a place where he thinks he can be happy. Even during moments that weren’t action packed this pace moved along so well that I could barely put the book down. Not to mention the dialogue constantly had me smirking.
This is box title
“You don’t believe in extraterrestrials?”

“Do I believe they exist somewhere out there in infinite space? Yes. Do I think they’re hanging out around our solar system, occasionally sneaking over to steal a cow or probe someone’s ass? No.”

“Arse-probing gets a bad rap,” she said.” – pg 211

I can’t say enough how much I really enjoyed this book. I knew from the moment I read the book description that this would be an excellent read for me and I was not let down.

There are so many creatures from different cultures and folklore that you find yourself wondering what or who Boy might encounter next.  I was surprisingly thrown for a loop when I made assumptions about things to find out later I was wrong. This was definitely a coming of age story of a boy on the cusp of adulthood and about self acceptance and doing what’s right. I can only hope there will be more of these books and have already picked up another book by this author in hopes I will enjoy it as much as I did Man Made Boy.

Man Made Boy

Find: Amazon | Indiebound | Goodreads
Follow: Website | Twitter

This is box title

• A copy was provided by the publisher for an honest review. Quotes come from the published edition. All opinions expressed are my own. Please note that this post also contains affiliate links. To view our full Blog Policy, click here.

Stalk me!

Tabitha (Pabkins)

When I'm in the zone I can flip book pages faster than the eye can see - screaming "More Input!" I'm a book, yarn, & art supply hoarding goblin who loves to draw, make toys and craft all sorts of creepy cute things. My current habit is to listen to audio books while I'm arting it up!
Stalk me!

Latest posts by Tabitha (Pabkins) (see all)

Related Posts

17 Responses to “Review: Man Made Boy by Jon Skovron”

  1. Becky LeJeune

    I have this one in my TBR but yours is the first review I’ve seen. I did talk to the Penguin rep this weekend and she said it was super cute – she highly recommended it so it’s def in my review plans soon.
    Becky LeJeune recently posted…Horror for Halloween GiveawayMy Profile

    • Tabitha the Pabkins

      I really loved it so I hope you plan to give it a read soon. It would make the perfect, non scary, but still fitting Halloween read! Were you at a book fair?

    • Tabitha the Pabkins

      It really is awesome. I think B horror movies are funny too. I think thats the point haha. This was funny, endearing, sad – just pretty much wonderful.

  6. Jaime Lester

    So I am going to buy this one right this minute. I have to. I have been nutso about this book since I first saw the awesome cover and read the even more awesome synopsis! I was almost scared to read your review in case you hated it. But I sucked it up and read it, and I am a happy little southern gal right now. I cannot wait to get my hands on this book!

      • Jaime Lester

        Hardcover will be mine. Can’t do the Kindle copy with a cover like this. I cannot wait for this book. It may be nearing obsession!